Dubai Municipality launches new e-Services

The new e-Services include the Online Advertisement Permits Service, the Clearance for Importation of Dangerous Goods and the DM e-Tendering Management System.

This was announced in a press conference on Wednesday, 25th May by Qassim Sultan, Director General of Dubai Municipality, and Hussein Nasser Lootah, Assistant Director General of the Municipality for Planning and Building Affairs and Head of the e-Government Committee.

Sultan said the e-Government initiative is a strategic objective of Dubai Municipality. "Our aim is to have maximum online clients so that we can improve customer service, improve our processes, and reduce costs by saving time, money and efforts. Now, as we enter Phase Four of the e-Government initiative, we are having a total revamp of the e-government IT infrastructure and are reviewing our e-government strategy through 2007," he said.

Sultan noted that the focus in future would be on integration initiatives and establishing new delivery channels such as mobile devices and integrating all delivery channels.

He added that the municipality's redesigned portal has recently crossed the most important milestone since its inception when the site recorded its millionth online transaction early in May 2005.

Explaining the new e-Services, Hussein Lootah said they include the Online Advertisement Permits Service, the Clearance for Importation of Dangerous Goods and the DM e-Tendering Management System.

Online Advertisement Permits Service

Purpose

The Online Advertisement Permits service is part of the Dubai Municipality's initiative to provide better services to its customers by minimizing the frequency of customer visits to DM and providing them the facility to apply and receive of the advertisements permit through the web application.

The Online Advertisement Permits service is going to provide customers with the following options:

• Request a new permit for Direct Applicant;
• Request an image change permit (for existing permits or against new contracts);
• Request direct permit amendment;
• Request to renew an existing permit (for non Department of Economic
Development (DED) trade licences);
• Request to cancel an exiting permit;
• Check status of advertisement permits;
• Pay Online; and
• Download Issued Permits.

The Online Advertisement Permits service will provide complete integration to the Advertisement Section Internal System which will minimise the amount of manual data entry and updates that advertisement users are currently facing. The Advertisement Section Internal System is developed by the DM Information Technology Department.

Who are the Customers?

This service is for the advertising companies of Dubai and other emirates who wish to advertise in our City. The advertisement companies can apply online for the broad spectrum of medium types, the most used amongst them are: Banners, Electronic Signboards, MUPIs, Advertisement on Vehicles etc.

Customers Benefits

E-government saves companies money. Whenever customers must drive to a government office or wait in a line, companies lose productive time from them. Lost productivity is spent money. If the employees need more than one trip, then each trip is spent money. Putting services on the Internet gets rid of the driving time and time spent waiting in a line. With DM´s e-government system, return trips are just a few mouse clicks. Employees have more productive time in the office.

The main advantages of this service can be summarised as follows:

• to reduce the processing time of the issuance of the advertisement
permit process;
• to reduce the paper work related to the permits' application forms
and supporting documents;
• to allow the customer to pay online for the permits fees;
• to electronically issue the advertisement permit without the customers having to come to the section for collection;

The Clearance for Importation of Dangerous Goods

Purpose

The Clearance for Importation of Dangerous Goods service (IDG) is part of Dubai Municipality's services provided by the Environment Planning Unit. This service is for issuance of clearance for importation of dangerous goods that are used for industrial and commercial purposes.

The main purpose of this service is control on the goods being imported to Dubai as a first step in the management of these materials. E-Enabling this service would allow the DM's customers to apply online for clearance for importation of dangerous goods into Dubai and for re-export of imported radioactive materials.

This service is providing customers with the following options:

• Apply for clearance for Importation of Dangerous Goods;
• Apply for re-export of radioactive sources;
• Amend details of an application;
• Check status of your application;
• Print clearance certificates for approved applications;

Who are the Customers?

All importers / consignee who wish to import any one of the goods classified as Dangerous into the Emirate of Dubai. They are required to get a valid clearance for these goods. The table below provides the product classification (Class 1 - Explosives of are handled only by Dubai Police).

Dangerous goods class description

1. Flammable Gas
2. Flammable Liquids
3. Flammable Solids
4. Oxidizing Substances 5. Toxic Substances
6. Radioactive Substances
7. Corrosive Substances
8. Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods

Customers Benefits

• Eliminate need for customer visits to DM in order to apply and
receive certificates.
• More convenience for customer to apply using online service thus
minimizing paper work, manual forms and attachments.
• Less paper work and management overhead for customers.
• Higher customer satisfaction
• Automation of control over application for re-exports of radioactive sources.

The DM e-Tendering Management System

Purpose

The e-Tendering Management System is part of the Dubai Municipality's initiative to provide better services to its users by minimizing the frequency of supplier visits to DM and providing them the facility to purchase, download and respond to the tender documents online. This system main purpose is for selling of DM tender documents to DM suppliers and processing the response tender documents online.

The e-Tendering Management System is going to provide customers with the following options:

• View and purchase tender documents;
• Download purchased tender documents;
• Submit tender response document;
• Withdraw tender response;
• Check Status of tenders; and
• View tender opening results.

Who are the Customers?

Users belonging to Supplier organizations involved in DM tender purchasing. This e-service can also be accessed by public users who are registered on DM's web site to respond to tenders that are classified as public tenders by Dubai Municipality's Contract and Purchasing Department.

Customers Benefits

This system provides enormous opportunities to Government, individuals and business. For DM, this e-service presents ways for more efficiently and effectively managing the tender services to citizens, while at the same time providing savings.

The main objectives of this service can be summarised as follows:

• To reduce or eliminate the visits of DM Suppliers to the DM premises for
• Tender document collection and payment;
• Submitting responses; and
• Attending the bid announcements.
• This e-system also aims to reduce the processing time of the tendering selling cycle from tender announcement to tender awarding by eliminating few manual steps and paper work;
• To reduce the paper work required to send invitation of new tenders for the registered suppliers, to send tender amendments notices;
• To capture extensive data related to the DM tenders including tender information, classification, the bidders for each tender, bidders and bidding details, tender qualification results and awarding results; and
• To track the progress and status of the DM tenders.

This system will also provide Suppliers with the facility to view tenders document online, pay online and download the tender documents for their record thus eliminating the need to visit DM for payment and collection of tender.